Dealing with liquidation merchandise can bring you some extra cash on the side but it can also become your main business as it often brings proper full-time income.
Liquidation pallets are products that a retailer is planning to sell at a discount price. Since shipments range in size, you have to have a good system in your efforts to find the inventory and ship it to customers. Regular maintenance, decluttering and organizational tools are essential if you want to run your business well.
Although this sounds simple, it can become challenging for someone with no experience in organizing.
Organization is key as it makes the process more efficient and it gets you on the fast-track to profitable sales without having everything sprawled all over the floor.
In the article, we suggest some tips for organizing your liquidation pallets to effectively process them and make life easier.
Preparing Your Space
When you’re a reseller, one of the crucial things to consider is obtaining a space that is cleared and ready as you’ll need it to unpack, process, sort, and store the products from the liquidation pallets once they arrive. The amount of space you’ll need depends mainly on the type of products you’ll stock and open spaces are ideal as they offer both flexibility and protection.
If you’re new to this business and don’t have the means to get a large space, try out a few cases first before deciding to scale up.
Whatever you do, make sure to pick a location that will work for you and any employees you might have and make it strategic by being close and having access to important roads and major highways. If you’re thinking of renting a warehouse, there are certain questions that you should consider asking yourself related to insurance, whether the space will serve as a storefront or whether a loading dock will be available.
Thinking of the warehouse layout is also vital as it includes the most critical work areas. Space must be considered for the office area where all administrative tasks are conducted, the receiving, storage, packing, and shipping. Having all this organized will make your operation smooth and efficient.
Catalog Everything
Once your order arrives, make sure that everything has arrived in the condition it should, and reference your manifest while unpacking as this will ensure that all items and quantities are accounted for.
Remember that the condition codes often vary across retailers as it’s a matter of liquidations merchandise that usually is returned by customers or it’s overstock.
A proper label maker, duct tape, or anything similar can go a long way when labeling as this is a top recommendation when trying to start with your organizing. Labeling will quickly make it possible for you to recognize what you’re looking for and know where to go and find it for shipment.
Divide by Category and Create a Unique Tracking System
An efficient organizational system will assist you in tracking the inventory in your storage, locate the items once you need to ship them, and the common ways to sort them is by product type, appearance, and the place where you intend to sell them.
No one can tell you what is the best way to organize your inventory but experiment and find a method that will suit you best, as there is no single best one that suits all businesses.
Creating your tracking system in the form of coded skew can assist you in finding the items in the warehouse storage if, of course, the items are properly labeled. Come up with your abbreviations to locate the products swiftly and to pack orders without any hassle.
Think About Racks and Shelving Units
Maximizing storage is one of the smartest investments when organizing liquidations pallets.
A standard truckload is known to contain 24-26 pallets worth of merchandise but sometimes the number can be even bigger and with such shipments, racks and shelves are the perfect solutions regardless if you’re operating from a warehouse or a garage.
Placing lighter items on racks and shelves while having heavier items on the floor makes everything more practical and ensures that your liquidation pallets stay organized and in place.
Final Thoughts
Organization is a prerequisite for establishing, maintaining, and growing any business.
When it comes to organizing your liquidation pallets, it does not take much time and energy, just a decent level of commitment and will to protect your products and ship them in good condition to your clients.
With this, not only will you manage your business successfully but it will also allow you to keep up with the demand and ship more merchandise.
